Old Testament
I have been teaching Old Testament for 28 years. What keeps me at it? That is a good question. I often ask it of myself and if I am honest I answer – the same thing that got me into the discipline in the first place. It is the fascination of dealing with literature that in many places equals the best our culture has to offer, of dealing with narratives, political speeches, poetry, legal materials, sermons, prayers etc. etc. that address the big questions of life without neglecting the hard edges of human existence and experience. Above all it is the sense of touching the lives of real people struggling with living in an often unpredictable world. It is of touching the mystery behind life, the God who sustains us and engages us in this world.
The real people mentioned above may occasionally be those who appear in the text of the Old Testament but more often than not they are the ones who stand behind the texts asking questions like ‘Who is God?’, ‘What are human beings?’, ‘Why do good people suffer?’, ‘Why do wicked people often seem to prosper?’, ‘Is life more than a vain exercise?’ These and other questions are addressed from a variety of points of view and all mixed up with a good dose of violence, sex, intrigue, murder, revenge, true confessions, passionate love, deep commitment, and a quest for hope and truth. There is more here than we would usually seek in a good read.
All of this comes with a cost to the reader. If we are looking for simple or straight forward answers to the questions above, we might be more than disappointed. We do have to work a bit at understanding this literature that comes to us from long ago and a long way away. Moreover, the Old Testament does not always provide the answers to such deep questions that we might expect or hope for. It challenges our thinking and our comfort. It does not always offer clear, decisive, unambivalent answers to our questions of faith and life. It is more likely to invite us into a conversation about such things than send us away with matters resolved. But we will still have the echoes of intriguing stories in our minds inviting us back to engage in theological discussion once more with this timeless literature, and ultimately, to engage with God.
Howard Wallace, March 2010
